Landscape rocks can serve both a decorative and a practical purpose. A properly positioned rock can add to aesthetic beauty of an area. If the rock is hollow and artificial, it may protect an item otherwise exposed to the elements.
From a purely decorative standpoint, landscape rocks and boulders are known to be used in landscaping to provide a natural effect and to highlight certain areas. To use an actual boulder, it is necessary to (1) find a suitably shaped boulder, (2) transport that boulder to the location of use and then (3) dig the ground around the boulder, in order to (4) rest it within the ground at a suitable height. This process is obviously time consuming and burdensome.
To solve these problems, a variety of alternatives to natural boulders have been developed. Contemporary landscape architects utilize artificial boulders, which are actually hollowed out boulder liners or shells, having a bottom portion cut off to fit flush on the ground. Such liners are typically formed of concrete, which is, in turn, shaped in a mold.
Normally, the mold is formed from an actual boulder. This boulder is selected for its size, shape and design characteristics. By varying the composition or surface treatment of the boulder liner, different colors or surface characteristics can be obtained.
Though contemporary landscape boulder liners have significant functional and economic advantages over actual boulders, the current processes for forming such landscape boulders suffer significant shortcomings. Such problems interfere with both the production rate and the quality of the resulting landscape boulders. The quality of such landscape boulders may be measured by how closely the surface of the landscape boulder reflects the surface details of the actual boulder used in the formation process.
Contemporary precesses for forming landscape boulders typically use fiberglass molds made by forming a latex skin on the surface of the actual boulder, and then constructing the fiberglass mold around the latex skin. Cement is pumped or hand trowelled into the inverted fiberglass mold and allowed to set. The only force acting on the cement is its own weight.
By the action of gravity, the cement generally moves downward toward the bottom of the mold. This feature provides a thicker section of the artificial rock at the upper portion of the artificial landscape boulder when the process is complete. Consequently, the resulting product is weaker and does not have all desired surface characteristics from the mold. This deficiency is particularly significant in the upper and side portions of the inverted landscape boulder.
In order to remedy those deficiencies, it is necessary to apply additional cement by hand to the lower outside portions of the completed landscape boulder. This reduces the chances of the product looking like the original boulder. Such processes have significant deficiencies with respect to both the quality of the resulting product and the production rate.
There is also an additional useful function of an artificial boulder. Increasingly, modern utility lines, such as telephone, electrical, and cable lines, are located underground, rather than in the air suspended by telephone poles, as in the past. While locating utility lines underground provides the advantage of removing unsightly telephone poles and suspended wires from city streets and rural landscapes, it also presents several disadvantages.
Specifically, access to these underground lines is difficult and requires that these lines be periodically brought to the surface and enclosed within a surface enclosure. Consequently, utility companies provide access enclosures for the utility equipment at various above-ground or ground level locations. However, these enclosures are often unsightly, particularly when located in suburban neighborhoods and the like.
While access enclosures of utility companies are extremely durable, in order to protect the equipment, all of the enclosures lack aesthetic appeal. It is highly desirable to provide an aesthetically pleasing cover with strength and durability, with minimal interference with servicing of the utilities through access enclosures.
These utility enclosures do have certain advantages. For instance, they give utility workers the ability to perform maintenance on the lines, as well as the ability to diagnose or enhance the performance of the lines using active and passive devices that are attached to the utility lines in the enclosure.
An above-ground enclosure also provides easy access for changing these devices or otherwise upgrading or providing maintenance on these utility services. For example, above-ground utility enclosures facilitate the task of attaching amplifiers, or line extenders, or other implements to the cable television lines. In this instance, the amplifies act to boost the signal that is transmitted through the line.
Unfortunately, there are also certain drawbacks associated with current utility enclosures. First, the utility enclosures are unattractive in appearance as they typically consist of large box-shaped structures made of unattractive colors. Such devices are especially undesirable in residential areas, where the utility connectors often project upward in the yard of a home and spoil an otherwise well-landscaped yard.
The utility enclosures and connectors contained therein also present another disadvantage in that their current design is impractical. As discussed, amplifiers and other devices are often located in the enclosures where connections are formed in the utility lines to boost the signal carried by the lines. Typically, these type of devices are suspended from an elevated bar that extends upward from the utility connector housing.
However, in current utility connectors, the position of the elevated bar, from which these devices are hung, is fixed. Such a fixed position is undesirable. It does not allow an operator to adjust the location of the bar to suit the various types and sizes of amplifiers or other devices. Moreover, because the position of the bar is fixed, it often interferes with a maintenance person, who is trying to access the utility lines.
Clearly, there is a need for a utility cover that is more aesthetically pleasing, more practical and more convenient for utility maintenance personnel to access for maintenance of the utility services provided therein. However, such a combination of advantages is difficult to obtain.
Polyester fiberglass is a known composition for producing artificial rocks. This material presents a problem, because it requires a gel coat or barrier coat to be first sprayed into the mold. The polyester resin, conventionally employed for structural strength, requires fiberglass filler or reinforcement, in order to avoid problems caused by the inherent brittleness of the polyester resin.
Also, low production with a polyester based material is a problem. Curing times and mold set up time restricts productions to one or two parts per mold per day.
Plaster and concrete have also been employed, but suffer a weight disadvantage, because both are too dense for producing large specimens. Lack of durability, weathering and resistance to cracking and chipping represent further problems. Production is also generally limited to one or two parts per mold per day, with this material.
A particular problem is presented in molding artificial rocks. Such rocks may be made in solid form of one type of plastic or another, but are limited in variety or design, both because of the high cost of molding as well and the time requirement. The time requirement relates to production of both the mold and the molded product. For landscaping purposes, different sizes and types of artificial rocks are desirable, and high mold costs and operation expenses may be limiting factors in the production of such rocks of different size and appearance to simulate a natural setting.
A further problem has been in the presentation of self-supporting supporting substantial rigid artificial rocks of durability, strength and hardness that can withstand the rigors of the environment, wear and tear that will occur from weather, by accident or from intentional efforts to cause damage. Such rocks, if used in an outdoor setting, must be able to withstand a load and weathering over a period of time and substantial physical abuse by the public that may be encountered in the landscape or other type of setting in which they are employed.
Another problem with the artificial rock is that moisture may be trapped inside the rock. Yet providing vents in the artificial rock can easily detract from the aesthetic appearance thereof. If such ventilation can be achieved, while maintaining the aesthetic appearance, great advantages can be achieved.